Prince Sefah is the new CEO of GIFEC
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has appointed the former Deputy Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr Prince Sefah, as the new CEO of the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC).
Mr Prince Sefah takes over from Hon. Kofi Asante, the immediate past CEO of GIFEC, who has attained the age of retirement.
His appointment took effect from 9th August 2021.
Mr Sefah is expected to bring to GIFEC a renewed drive, innovation, strong industry experience, operations management and technological acumen toward achieving its clear vision of promoting universal access to digitisation.
Reaction
Aside from lauding the President for appointing yet another youthful person for the top position, some industry watchers on social media believe the choice of Mr Prince Sefah as CEO of GIFEC is timely and very strategic to boost the work of the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful.
The Minister was reappointed to lead the President’s plan to fast-track the digitalisation of the Ghanaian economy; and to also work frenetically and systematically to establish a new Best-in-Class Phone SIM registration process across the length and breadth of the country, towards weeding out SIMs used by fraudsters.
Ghana is considered the leading telecommunication and digital hub in the Sub-Region, and the appointment of Mr Sefah by the President as the new CEO of GIFEC will help the drive for the implementation of the Universal Access to Digitisation programs of this government.
Brief Profile
Mr Sefah is a multi-faceted IT Executive who has about 25 years of professional experience in areas such as Manufacturing, Banking, ICT, Oil & Gas and Telecommunications sectors in Central & Western Canada and Ghana. He previously worked in senior IT management roles at global corporate giants like General Electric and Citigroup.
In the first term of the Nana Akufo-Addo administration, he was a Board Member of the Accra Digital Centre, where he chaired the Board’s Technical and Operations Committee under the Board Chairmanship of Mr Kofi Asante.
He has also been a Board Member of the Institute of ICT Professionals Ghana since 2017.
He possesses a BComm (Information Technology Management) from Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada and a Master of Business Administration (Human Resources Management) from the University of Ghana, Legon.
Mr Prince Sefah is currently pursuing a Senior Professional in Human Resources, International (SPHRi) Certification.
He is a multi-faceted Technology Leader who has completed many IT Industry Certifications and Training; attended many Trade Shows, Workshops and Conferences, domestically and internationally.
He is the recipient of an Economics Book Prize (on the Economy of Developing Countries) awarded by Ryerson University.
Mr Prince Sefah has achieved an Advanced Leader (Silver) and Advanced Communicator (Silver) designations from Toastmasters International Organisation (TMI).
He won several awards in Speech and Evaluation Contests as well as Leadership Awards during his time in TMI.
Mr Sefah attended St. Peter’s Secondary School for his A’ Level and Nkawkaw Secondary School for his O’ Level, before migrating to Canada for over two decades until his return to live in Ghana a few years ago.
About GIFEC
The promulgation of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775) gave the prevailing legal backing to the GIFEC, thereby changing the organisation’s original name of GIFTEL, as well as giving it an expanded mandate and scope.
The scope of operations of GIFEC, as enshrined in section 32 of Act 775, mandates the organisation to facilitate the implementation of universal access to electronic communication and the provision of Internet Point of Presence in underserved and unserved communities. GIFEC is also mandated to facilitate capacity building programmes and promote ICT inclusion in the unserved and underserved communities, as well as the deployment of ICT equipment to educational, vocational and other training institutions.